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The Dow may have risen in anticipation of a recovery, but rail car loadings, usually a reliable indicator of economic activity, tell a different story. Jack McHugh, writing at The Big Picture, examines a 24 page Credit Suisse report on rail car loadings and summarizes: "Bottom Line: Last week proved no different than the last 4: railroad carloads were down more than 20%. Week 17 saw a year-over-year volume shortfall of 21.6% - which is slightly worse than the 20.4% drop in Week 16. ...

I just witnessed a car chase from the FOX helicopter feed around where I live. It was fast around Roscoe Blvd., Owensmouth Ave, De Soto Ave, etc. and ended on Topanga Blvd. where Chatsworth Park is near the hills. 12 police cars came by to stop it. Those were airborne videos. Note that this is near very dark. There is a ground video of men and women coming to the noise wondering WTF? I only take a lady to a beach in Ventura that makes hearts quiet.

Southern Exposure By Fred Thompson Editor's note: Click here to listen to the original radio commentary this transcript is based on. We are all very well aware of the fact that we have an illegal-immigration problem in this country. As usual, we avoided the problem for as long as we could and when we couldn’t avoid it any longer we were told that, indeed, somewhere between 12 and 20 million people had somehow come into this country unnoticed. It’s like we went overnight from “no problem” to a problem so big that it now defies a good solution. It’s become...

The case of Terri Schiavo raises complex issues. Yet in instances like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life. Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our special care and concern. It should be our goal as a nation to build a culture of life, where all Americans are valued, welcomed, and protected - and that culture of life must extend to individuals with disabilities.

SAN ANTONIO — Musician-turned-mystery author Kinky Friedman (search) is promising an unconventional campaign in his independent bid to get elected Texas governor next year. Wearing blue jeans, black cowboy hat, a black fringed Western jacket and smoking a cigar, Friedman announced his candidacy in front of the Alamo on Thursday morning.

05:57 pm 1:00 (est.) Call-In News Review C-SPAN, Washington Journal Ann Coulter

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 4 - Christopher Key knows exactly what he would be giving up if he left Bellingham, Wash. "It's the sort of place Norman Rockwell would paint, where everyone watches out for everyone else and we have block parties every year," said Mr. Key, a 56-year-old Vietnam War veteran and former magazine editor who lists Francis Scott Key among his ancestors. But leave it he intends to do, and as soon as he can. His house is on the market, and he is busily seeking work across the border in Canada. For him, the re-election of President...

Has anyone else heard this? Hannity was speaking to a lady convention rep:\ Hannity: Has there been any change in the program? Her: Well Rush..... Hannity: SShhh shush On Rush's show he said he's leaving Florida. Then later said he will be in New York "tomorrow". I was in a position to listen all day today. Anyone else catch this??

DETROIT — A member of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's (search) legal team said he'll step down after receiving a citation accusing him of soliciting a prostitute. He denied the charges. Melvin "Butch" Hollowell (search), 44, was expected to appear in court Tuesday, a week after deputies saw the attorney pick up a woman near his Detroit home, authorities said.

Blocking Dummy By The Prowler Published 8/3/2004 12:07:10 AM LOST FUMBLER If John Kerry loses Michigan, he will probably blame it on his joke writers, then Woody Hayes and the mighty Ohio State Buckeyes. But he only has himself to blame. He should have used that several-decade gap between his job in Vietnam and his job of running for president boning up on his knowledge of sports. The Prowler has documented several examples thus far, and over weekend Kerry really goofed up. To get his Ohio rallies up and rolling, Kerry used a set of jokes to open his events....

Since there isn't a thread yet, I'm starting it Ann is really, really good about Berger stuffing things in his clothes. Really good!

Friday, April 16, 2004 9:14 a.m. EDT Testy Teresa Tirade: I Can't Believe I Came to America It didn't take long for the rigors of the campaign trail to sour first lady-in-waiting Teresa Heinz, who fumed yesterday that she "can't believe" she moved to America and married an American politician. "I can't believe my family left Africa and came to this country," Heinz Kerry complained to the New York Post's Cindy Adams. "I can't believe I ever even married an American." "A politician's wife has a hard life," she said. "To become more of a 'thing' and less of a...

DETROIT (AP) - Ted Nugent was injured on the Texas set of his reality show when a chain saw cut through his leg. The outspoken rocker, outdoors enthusiast and star of the VH1 series "Surviving Nugent: The Ted Commandments," required 40 stitches to close the gash in his leg on Sunday, Michelle Clark, a spokeswoman for the cable music channel, said Tuesday.

Goldberg File Family Trouble The media’s big gay secret. January 25, 2002 4:50 p.m.   ong-time readers of this column may recall that I'm a big believer in the "looking for trouble" school of justice (See, Restoring the Hidden Law, for example). If you climb over a zoo fence in order to see if it bothers a polar bear when you kick him in the gizatz, I won't feel particularly sorry for you when he uses you as a loofah. "He did go looking for trouble," I'll say. If you go into a biker bar and walk from one ...

News Alerts ] Tuesday January 22, 7:26 pm Eastern TimeLeading Indicators Rise 1.2 PercentLeading Indicators Rise 1.2 Percent in December, Third Consecutive Monthly Gain By EILEEN ALT POWELL AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- A key gauge of U.S. economic activity rose strongly in December, and the third consecutive monthly gain signaled that the nation's recession may soon be over. The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 1.2 percent in December following a revised rise of 0.8 percent in November and an increase of 0.1 percent in October. It was the largest ...

AOL in cahoots with Compaq, HP to derail WinXP, .NET? By: John Lettice Posted: 04/05/2001 at 12:13 GMT AOL is considering what amounts to all out war on Microsoft and Windows XP, according to a document obtained by Betanews, which has been getting its hands on some corkers of late. If genuine the document is an AOL internal strategy memo listing "response scenarios" to XP. Practically all of them are seriously hardball, and at their most extreme they'd add up to recruiting an OEM coalition to topple Microsoft from the desktop while destabilising the XP rollout. Fear, uncertainty, doubt? ...

U.S., Chinese hackers vow to wage online war By Michelle Delio, Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO (April 21, 2001 11:34 p.m. EDT) - As tensions rise between China and the United States, computer-savvy citizens of both countries have begun to wage their own Internet war. American hackers are urging each other to break into websites hosted in China, and claim that US hackers have already penetrated hundreds of Chinese websites. Chinese hackers are vowing to retaliate with a week-long attack on US-based websites and computer networks, starting May 1. Security experts warn that these attacks could affect government systems, and ...

POTOMAC WATCH Two Countries, One SystemTuesday's results show a profoundly divided America.BY PAUL A. GIGOTThursday, November 9, 2000 12:01 a.m. America--or rather the two Americas--got the government we probably deserved this week. A perfectly divided nation appears to have elected an imperfectly divided government. The half of the country that loves Bill Clinton vaulted his wife into the Senate, and probably toward a future run for the White House. The half that loathes this president appears to have rejected his designated successor, Al Gore, by electing the son of the man Mr. Clinton defeated in 1992. America's socially liberal ...

Portrait of America http://www.portraitofamerica.com November 6, 2000 Presidential Tracking Poll On the final day of Campaign 2000, Portrait of America (POA) finds Texas Governor George W. Bush leads Vice President Al Gore by seven points, 48% to 41%. Ralph Nader has 4%. The Rasmussen Research telephone survey of 3,750 Likely Voters was conducted for Portrait of America on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 2, 4, and 5. In the electoral college, Bush leads 224 to 168, with 146 electoral votes in the toss-up category. To see the Portrait of America Electoral College summary click here. A review of our ...

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 9:22 p.m. ET DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) -- Making a final pitch in voter-rich California, Dick Cheney campaigned Sunday with retired Gen. Colin Powell in an area steeped in military ties, and both promised that a White House led by Republican George W. Bush will repair U.S. troop strength. ``We're getting down to the point where it's going to be absolutely essential to get all your friends and neighbors to the polls,'' the Republican vice presidential candidate said in this San Diego suburb. ``If you'll help us next Tuesday, we are going to carry ...